The Night that Percy Fell
by Lyra Harp
Summary: The night that Perceptor fell down to Earth was a weird one. All Valerina wanted was for Perceptor to see something amazing. Percy, being Percy, got stubborn...but got dragged down anyway. OC story


**A.N.** I heard about the Perseid Meteor Shower and immediately thought...Percy? Perceptor? Lovey-dovey fanfic waiting to happen? Heck yes!

~0~

"Per-"

"No."

"You-"

"No."

Val kicked Perceptor's ankle. Perceptor sighed at the curse that fell out of his most-frequent-visitor's mouth. "Was that truly nec-?"

"Yes." Val glared up at Perceptor. "You promised me that you would do what I wanted to do tonight _regardless_ of work. You're breaking your promise."

He picked her up and set her next to the specimen he _had _been examining. "I did not promise anything. I said I would consider it if I was available. This specimen is of top priority"

_Priority over me? _Val thought. "I talked to Jazz who talked to Prowl who talked to Prime. They all agreed that one night wouldn't kill you."

"Logically-"

"Don't, alright? Just-Don't. You-" Val took a deep breath. If she started to get hysterical, Perceptor would never take a break. Well, not the kind of break she wanted. He would take her to the Med Bay and leave her there to rot until morning. She couldn't wait until morning-none of them could. If it was any other night, she wouldn't mind, but tonight was different. Perceptor had to come out with her tonight. It was only happening tonight. And recording it-It just wasn't the same thing. Perceptor appreciated things so much more when he could analyze it himself. There wasn't another option. He had to see it tonight-and damn it all, he had to see it with her.

This was her idea. Her research led her to this point. There wasn't time to sit around. By her calculations, she only had an hour at most. Realistically, it could start at any moment-which meant that she needed to get Perceptor outside. Now. "Working here is great. I don't mind running errands for you." That was a lie. She thought his errands were a pain. "That's my job and I do it." Love made her do crazy things she shouldn't have to do. "I haven't taken a day off." Perceptor opened his mouth. "I know that a scientists' work never stops, but, technically, Prowl gives us one to two weeks off a year. I haven't taken one in three years and I know that you've only taken one in the past thirty for medical reasons." Perceptor flipped the yellow sight for his shoulder cannon up as a warning. "Ratchet wants you to take a night off, too. That's not my point-"

"Then get to it."

_I'm crushing on you, _Val thought. _Now take a day off for me, damn it._ "One night, Perceptor. That's all I'm asking for." _Even though I want more, I know your not going to give it to me-not that that's physically possible, but still-Dreaming is for those who refuse to move. You don't dream, so move your aft. _"I won't ask you for anything for another year. I'll show up on time-Heck, I'll show up early. Just-One night. That's it. Then I'll get off your case and help you with this newest project of yours."

Perceptor stared unblinkingly at Val. What the female was suggesting was ludicrous. She never showed up one time. In fact, it seemed that she made a point to show up precisely an hour later that she was prescribed to. Prowl had told him, based on human social behavior, that being late was rational both to her and to him-him because she had explained it to him. He didn't understand it at all. Val said he wasn't supposed to. 'It's a human thing,' she said. 'It's called being fashionably late.' It had become routine for him to tell her a stream of responses to her statement.

One-According to Drift, he was fashionable. Though he doubted Val would want to hear the reasoning behind it. It was not for virgin ears. Two-As scientists, being fashionable was not a goal. Getting results, well-That was considered 'all the rage.' Or so he believed. He was not 'up to date' on human lingo, but he was discouraged from using it after Val had laughed at him for 'using it out of order.' What order was he supposed to-? He supposed that figuring that bit of social code out was lost on him as well.

What mattered in this situation, however, was not Perceptor's utter disregard of where his social misunderstandings may have led him. What mattered was Val, his assistant, and her emotions that always seemed to distract him from his work. He could be close to a break through! Not that he knew what he was breaking though exactly. Only time could tell him that. Time and valuable research which his assistant was interrupting.

Still...it was tempting. One night could mean the difference between a break through and a flop. But many nights...Realistically, it was always better to follow the option with a better sense of probability behind it. Prowl had a habit of telling him that when one of his many projects had less than a one percent success rate. He didn't care about rates. He cared about results. What made Val think that she could show up early with her track record? What results-facts-did she have to back up her plea for one night out with him?

Promises. It was a foolish thing, Perceptor thought. To promise something when it could not be followed through on for certain was foolish. They were based on emotional whims. There never seemed to be any real data attached to them-just an iron frame of determination.

That same determination was something that Perceptor didn't understand. He got things done at his own pace. There were no promises that he would ever finish what he started. He would never put a false sense of hope into the sparks of those who counted on his research. That would be cruel. But Val did not see it as cruel. And, despite what Perceptor thought, she always followed through on her promises. So there was data to support Val's claim that she would keep her promise and show up early for a year starting tomorrow. Promises were Val's statistics.

"Very well."

"I really think you should. You don't know what you're..." Val's eyebrow's scrunched together. "Can you repeat that?"

Perceptor stood up. "I will go with you tonight to this 'must-see event.'"

"W-Wait!"

Perceptor looked over at Val. "You're being contradictory."

Val huffed. "Fine. Just-let me get my camera."

Perceptor tapped his foot. "I'm waiting."

Val blushed. _Oh, sure-_Now _you're in a rush_. "Just-wait-"

"Waiting."

"Percy-"

"Valerina," Perceptor said. His cold voice made her shiver.

"Shut up. I'm digging."

"You wouldn't have to dig if you were organized."

"Not everyone can be neat freaks."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You have it."

Perceptor poked Val in the back of her head with a single finger. "Sarcasm does not fit you."

"Says you."

"Yes."

Val rolled her eyes before she grabbed the camera in the back of what Drift called her toy chest. He always teased her about it. 'I'm not going in there. I'll fall in.' She didn't give a rat's aft about what Drift thought. He was a warrior, not a scientist. She would never understand how he got Perceptor to agree to be friends with benefits. She couldn't fathom the amount of patience...

Val shook her head. "I've got it. Let's go."

~0~

"You never gave a fitting response to my statement."

Val looked up from where she was fiddling with her camera on her tripod. "What statement?"

Perceptor looked down at her. "Sarcasm does not fit you."

She went back to fiddling with technology. "Mama says it does. She said I was born with it." She raised a finger at Perceptor while looking through the lense, knowing he had his mouth open. "If you say scrap about my mama, I'm cutting the nights of your scientist-dominatrix fantasy in half."

"Where did you learn that language?"

Surprised that he didn't say anything to protest the 'dominatrix' part of her threat, Val took a break from fiddling, molded the basic settings for night time, and pressed 'record' before flopping down on the grass. "What language?"

"The bad kind," Perceptor said.

Val blinked, glanced at the look Perceptor was smoldering her with, and found a tree stump that looked very interesting all of a sudden. "Why does it matter?"

She jumped to her feet when she saw Perceptor walking the other way. "Waitwaitwait-!" She glomped his ankle. Perceptor froze to prevent unnecessary harm. "I learned it from a lot of people. Ratchet mostly. You know how he gets with the Twins."

Perceptor pinched the collar of Val's sweater and lifted her so they were eye to eye. "What was so important that you traded sleeping in for a night out?"

Val pointed over at where she had set up her camera. "That."

Because there was an illogical way to word his description, he chose to. Perceptor thought that the falling meteors depicted what humans dreaded the most: Heaven falling to Earth. To him, it was not dreadful. It was not scary.

He did not doubt that there would be damage. In fact, he was positive that there would be. It was only logical to know that some news station from some part of the globe would record the event before him-and the damage that it caused afterwards.

It was entirely logical. But he did not feel the need to bring logic to the situation. He walked over to where he had once been, sat on the grass close to the cliff, and set Val on his shoulder. He didn't need to race back to his lab to get equipment. Val was already recording it.

Val smiled at the look on Perceptor's face. It was worth his nonsensical babbling to see the wonder on his face. Val giggled. Seeing Perceptor be emotional was always worth the climb-

"Hush," Perceptor urged in a whisper.

-even if she did have to drag his lazy aft up the dang hill.

After the beautiful balls of white fire with a magical flare finished falling to Earth, Val tapped on Perceptor's head. He looked up at her. "Do you know what that was called?"

"A meteor shower."

Val shook her head. "The _Perseid_ meteor shower." Regardless of the possibility, Perceptor's eyes got wider. Val laughed softly. To her, the look on his face was worth the amount of sleep that she wouldn't be getting for the next year.

"Where did you hear about this?"

"Unlike you, I actually browse the internet for things other than supplies." Val smirked. "I found it posted on a scientific journal. Sounded cool."

"And this-This is why you have been distracted for a month?" Val blinked. "You have not been getting my parts as quickly."

"Parts take time and I get bored." Val shrugged. "It's no big deal." Val slid down Perceptor's arm to the ground. She turned off her camera and packed her equipment up in her bag. "So, a promise is a promise. This is the only thing I wanted to show you. Your free, so I'll just-"

Val struggled to breath as Perceptor kissed her forehead. She placed her hand on her forehead as Perceptor stood up. She felt like she was having a 'Eureka' moment as a blush spread across her face. "You will accompany me to a meteor site tomorrow morning. I wish to collect samples."

There were times when Perceptor thought that his scientific curiosity would be his down fall.

Val smiled. "Sure, Percy. I'll get up early."

At this moment, he didn't particularly care.


End file.
